SGPC stages protest against govt in Kaithal

Under the leadership of president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Avtar Singh Makkar, a large number of Sikhs staged a protest at Kaithal on Thursday against the state government’s proposed move to form an independent panel to manage the gurdwaras of Haryana.

Sikh leaders gathered at Gurdwara Neem Sahib at Kaithal and held a march. A Sikh convention is scheduled to be held in Kaithal on July 6 where the Haryana government may announce the formation of a separate panel.

A delegation led by SGPC senior vice-president Raghujit Singh Virk submitted a memorandum against the government’s proposed move to the DC. Makkar told reporters that the SGPC would not allow the Congress to set up the Haryana Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, which, he claimed, was not only against the Sikh community, but illegal as well.

He said that as all rules of the SGPC were formed and regulated under various Central laws, the Haryana government had no authority to bifurcate the Sikh panel. “Congress party is on a slippery political wicket in Haryana and to regain the ground, chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is promoting anti-Sikh ideas. But the SGPC will not let it happen and we will not only resort to widespread protests but take legal course to stop the Congress government from dividing the Sikh community for petty political gains,” said Makkar.